Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

Baroness Whitaker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that, under their new arrangements whereby prisoners will not be released on Fridays, prisoners’ sentences will be shortened to end on the Thursday rather than extended through to the following Monday.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is supporting the Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill. This Private Members’ Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 6 March 2023, sponsored by Lord Bird, following passage through the House of Commons. If it gains Royal Assent, the Bill will enable offenders who are at risk of reoffending to have their release date moved 1-2 days earlier, where their release falls on a Friday, or before a bank/public holiday.It would be unlawful detention to detain an offender beyond their release date.

Prisoners' Release: Temporary Accommodation

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of prisoners who, on the day of their release, have a bed to go to that night; and what percentage of those released that represents.

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship, if any, of the rate of reoffending with the availability of a place for prisoners to stay upon release.

Lord Bellamy: The number of prison leavers housed upon release from prison in 2021-22 was 43,521 and this represents 86.8% of the total number of prison leavers for the period where the destination is known*. This is an improvement of approximately 6.6 percentage points on 2019-20.*Cases are not included when the accommodation status is unknown (for a reason other than awaiting assessment) or provided by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement Service.Prison leavers without settled accommodation are 50% more likely to reoffend than those who have stable accommodation. A settled place to live is key to reducing reoffending, cutting crime and protecting the public. Probation practitioners are better able to robustly supervise an offender and protect the public when they know where they are living. The government is committed to end rough sleeping and tackling offender homelessness. Our Prisons Strategy White Paper set out our plans to reduce reoffending, including improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation. This includes expanding nationally the transitional Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 (CAS3) to all probation regions, so that prison leavers who would otherwise be at risk of homelessness, can access temporary accommodation for up to 12 weeks.

Department for Work and Pensions

Childcare and Occupational Health

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to expand the workforce by improving access to (1) affordable childcare, and (2) occupational health services.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government clearly recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why the changes to the UC childcare element announced in the Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into work and/or increasing their working hours. The Department will address the issue of ‘upfront’ childcare costs by exempting any Flexible Support Fund (FSF) payment for upfront childcare costs made to childcare providers from the UC childcare cost calculation when parents move into work or significantly increase their working hours. In practice, this means that the parent will be reimbursed for up to 85% of that FSF payment, as if they had paid it themselves. This provides parents with a significant payment of childcare costs, upfront, to use for their next set of childcare costs, thereby easing UC claimants into the UC childcare costs payment cycle. The Department will also increase the generosity of the UC childcare costs ‘caps’ (maximum amounts) - Allowing parents to claim back over £300 more for one child or over £500 for two or more children of their childcare costs per month. This will increase the caps from £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children to £950.92 and £1,630.15 respectively. By September 2025, eligible working parents of children aged 9 months to when they start school will be able to get 30 hours of free childcare in England. As set out in the Spring Budget, and the health is everyone’s business consultation response, increasing access to quality occupational health (OH) services can support disabled people and people with health conditions to remain in and thrive in work. This can contribute to reducing health-related inactivity. To increase access to OH the government is delivering a range of actions including: proposals to consult on tax incentives to encourage greater take-up of OH and new ways to boost OH coverage; an expanded trial of a subsidy for SMEs and the Self Employed to purchase OH services; a £1m fund to stimulate innovation in the OH market focussed on new models of service delivery and better use of technology; and plans to develop the multidisciplinary OH workforce needed to deliver services.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to annually uprate the UK basic state pension to qualifying individuals on the same basis regardless of the state or territory in which they are currently resident; and what reciprocal agreements they have made, if any, with other countries in respect of pension uprating.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for up-rating. The policy on up-rating is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. The Government has no plans to change this policy. The UK has reciprocal social security agreements, which provide State Pension up-rating, with the following authorities: BarbadosBermudaBosnia-HerzegovinaGibraltarGuernseythe Isle of ManIsraelJamaicaJerseyKosovoMauritiusMontenegroNorth Macedoniathe PhilippinesSerbiaTurkeyUSA The UK also has agreements in place with the European Economic Area and Switzerland which provide for State Pension up-rating.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken of the impact of their decision not to uprate the UK state pension upon (1) British citizens resident in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and (2) Commonwealth citizens who have retired to a country in the Caribbean with a UK state pension entitlement.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Department has not undertaken such research. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement is based on an individual’s national insurance record. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years. We continue to up-rate UK State Pensions abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. There are no plans to change this policy.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of uprating the UK basic state pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions uprating.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years. No recent assessment has been made of the annual cost of up-rating the UK basic State Pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions up-rating.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what stagethey have reached in negotiations with (1) the government of Canada, (2) the government of Australia, and (3) the government of New Zealand, on the annual uprating and payment of the UK state pension to beneficiaries resident in those countries.

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from, or on behalf of the governments of (1) Canada, (2) Australia, and (3) New Zealand, in the past 12 months on the subject of UK state pensions paid to individuals resident in their territories, and their annual uprating in line with those paid in the United Kingdom; and what representations have they received from non-governmental groups on the same subject.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The government does not have a policy to increase the number of countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements on state pensions. The government has no plans to change its social security relationship with these countries on state pensions. Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests. The department can, however, confirm that a response was provided to the government of Canada in August 2022 on its request to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include state pension uprating, where the department outlined its longstanding position as stated above.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animals: Antibiotics

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of trends in the use of antibiotics across different food-producing animal species.

Lord Benyon: The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding animal welfare. In the UK, collaborative working between government, the veterinary profession and the agriculture sectors has resulted in a 55% reduction in the sales of antibiotics for food producing animals between 2014 and 2021 to the lowest levels ever recorded (28.3 mg/kg). This, and other trends are reported in the UK’s Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance and Sales Surveillance Report 2021. Since data was first published for each sector, veterinary antibiotic prescribing has reduced by 69% in the pig sector, 81% in the turkey sector, 72% in the broiler sector, 89% in the duck sector, 50% in the laying hen sector, 55% in the gamebird sector and 69% in the trout sector. These reductions throughout the livestock sectors demonstrate how antibiotic stewardship has become an important feature of UK farm management.

Meat: Labelling

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are carried out on the labelling of meat products at the time of (1) production, (2) processing, (3) distribution, and (4) retail, in England.

Lord Benyon: It is the responsibility of a food business to ensure that labelling on food is accurate, clear and complies with the relevant legislation. Establishments producing meat products require to be approved in accordance with Retained Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004, unless a relevant exemption applies. Part of this approval requirement is to apply an ID mark to all approvable meat products leaving the establishment. Meat product manufacturers may be approved by the FSA or the local authority. Local authority approved establishments will be inspected regularly in accordance with a risk-based frequency. At the time of inspection, local authority officers will make checks to ensure the ID mark is being applied to all approvable products leaving the establishment, that it contains the approval number issued to the establishment and that it is in the format prescribed by the legislation. The ID mark provides traceability and is applied to packaging intended for the final consumer and retail sale. Retail food outlets are required to register with and be inspected by local authorities. Local authorities will inspect retailers regularly, in accordance with a risk-based frequency. As part of these checks, they will examine items displayed for sale and in the case of meat products, they will ensure an ID mark is displayed. Meat is also subject to the overarching food labelling rules which covers all foods and which are enforceable from the moment a food is placed on the market. While food is subject to these regulations it is the responsibility of a food authority, usually the Trading Standards Office attached to a local authority, to enforce these laws. This is done through a range of enforcement activities including both proactive, risk-led inspection activity and reactive enforcement following intelligence. Effective routine sampling is an essential part of local authority activity, with the Food Law Code of Practice and the Food Safety Act 1990 providing a framework to support sampling activity in addition to any enforcement action. Food samples submitted for analysis will also have a label check carried out which involves visually checking their labels against the mandatory requirements set out in the legislation.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sanctions

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they provide to British companies seeking to navigate international sanctions regimes and to find out, quickly and cost-effectively, which people and entities are subject to sanctions imposed by the (1) UK, (2) EU, (3) USA, and (4) UN.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government publishes the UK Sanctions List, sanctions legislation and guidance on gov.uk to support businesses in understanding their obligations under the UK's sanctions regimes. This includes information in relation to all UN sanctions regimes, which the UK implements. It is important for businesses to do their own due diligence.The UK coordinates with the US and EU on designing sanctions. The US and the US provide their own guidance to businesses on how to comply with their legislation.

Iran: Poisoning

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will taketo work with international partners to establish a UN investigation into the mass poisoning of school children in Iran.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We continue to monitor closely reports of mass poisonings of school girls across Iran. On 3 March 2023 I, as Minister for the Middle East, called on the Iranian authorities to investigate these incidents urgently. I underlined it is essential that all girls can exercise their human right to education without fear. The authorities have announced a number of arrests in connection the incidents; we expect Iran to now be transparent about what has happened and show it is holding those genuinely responsible to account. The UK will continue working alongside our international partners to ensure the facts are established.

Department of Health and Social Care

Public Health: Finance

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the delay in the publication of the Public Health Grant Allocation for 2023/24; and what assessment they have made of the impact of this delay on councils and their ability to plan effectively for the new financial year.

Lord Markham: Local Authority Public Health Grant allocations are not required to be published by a specific date. The Public Health Grant allocations for 2023/24 were published on 14 March 2023. Publication dates for allocations in the three previous years were 17 March 2020, 16 March 2021, and 7 February 2022. In recognition of the need to offer local authorities as much certainty as possible, we have also published the indicative allocations for 2024/25 and aim to confirm these by the end of the calendar year.

Mental Health Services: Equality

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whether allstaff working in mental health services are given equality and diversity training.

Lord Markham: All substantively employed staff working in the National Health Service are expected to carry out equality and diversity training as part of their mandatory training requirements. As statutory employers, NHS trusts may choose to enhance the training made available to their staff to address specific workforce needs or those of the population that they serve.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Markham on 2 February (HL4910), 8 February (HL4944) and 7 March (HL5695 and HL5938), why the Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel (TCRP) did not review the report Qcovid 4 - Predicting risk of death or hospitalisation from COVID-19, published in August 2022, when it met in January; why this report was not provided by the TCRP to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence; and when the TCRP will meet to review this report.

Lord Markham: The Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel met on 31 January 2023 to review the most recent evidence on COVID-19 risk, including QCovid 4. The evidence considered by the Panel was shared with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The report entitled QCovid 4 - Predicting risk of death or hospitalisation from COVID-19 is also in the public domain in an online-only format and available to NICE.

Pharmacy: Standards

Baroness Wheeler: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) reduced pharmacy opening hours, (2) over-capacity pharmacy services, and (3) pharmacists’ staff shortages, on (a) GP, and (b) A&E, services.

Baroness Wheeler: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to build and expand essential community pharmacy services, and (2) to prevent further closures of both large and small high street pharmacies.

Baroness Wheeler: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the Company Chemists’ Association that 720 pharmacies had closed permanently since 2015, 41 per cent of which were in England’s most deprived areas; and what steps they are taking to reverse this trend.

Lord Markham: No specific assessment has been made. However, the Department closely monitors the market. In England, access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services remains good with a similar number of community pharmacies as a decade ago and 80% of the population living within 20 minutes walking distance of a community pharmacy. The Pharmacy Access Scheme supports patient access and provision in areas where there are fewer community pharmacies by providing additional funding to those pharmacies. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal committed £2.592 billion per year to the sector and outlined a joint vision for how community pharmacy would become more integrated into the NHS, deliver more clinical services, and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. The Government continues to implement this deal and has invested a further £100 million across 2022/23 and 2023/24 to support community pharmacies.

Pharmacy: Standards

Baroness Wheeler: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply ofessential services provided by pharmacies, particularly the assembly of blister medication packs to support the safe administration of medicines at home by patients, care workers and unpaid carers.

Baroness Wheeler: To ask His Majesty's Government how many blister medication packs per year are assembled by pharmacies for patients in England.

Lord Markham: Compliance support services, for example the dispensing of medicines in blister medication packs, are not nationally commissioned and therefore no data is available on how many compliance aids are assembled every year in England. Under the Equality Act 2010, pharmacies must make reasonable adjustments to their services to help patients covered by the Act which could include compliance aids where appropriate.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Homosexuality

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have forHIV be part of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review; and if none, why.

Baroness Goldie: While HIV is not an issue exclusive to the LGBT+ community and, therefore, was not specified in the Terms of Reference for the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, Defence recognises the importance of the subject to the community. The Ministry of Defence, jointly with the Office for Veterans Affairs in the Cabinet Office, commissioned the Review to gain further insight into the lived experience of our LGBT+ veterans and facilitate the creation of a more inclusive future for all. The broad Terms of Reference enable the Review to consider the lived experience of LGBT+ personnel who also had HIV. The full terms of reference are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/terms-of-reference-for-the-lgbt-veterans-independent-review/terms-of-reference-independent-review-into-service-and-experience-of-lgbt-veterans-who-served-prior-to-2000 It is important to note that, regardless of sexuality, under policies in place at the time anyone with HIV would have been prevented from serving or medically discharged. Contemporary policy was based on specialist medical opinion and included consideration of the risk to the individual if operational circumstances precluded access to essential medication or specialist services; and the cost-benefit of training an individual with a chronic medical condition in a fixed liability organisation. How the virus was contracted was not relevant; simply having HIV disqualified individuals from Service until 21 June 2022.

Veterans: HIV Infection

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany veterans were discharged due to their HIV status between 1982 and 2020.

Baroness Goldie: Between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2022, 44 UK Regular Armed Forces personnel were medically discharged with HIV cited as the principal or contributory cause. Both principal and contributory causes have been included as it is possible for personnel to be medically discharged for multiple medical reasons. Medical discharges for personnel leaving the Services between 1982 and 1995 are held in individual's service records and are not centrally compiled by the Ministry of Defence.

Department for Business and Trade

Investment: Environment Protection

Lord Leong: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they plan to take to ensure that business shareholder and pension investments are made in ways that support the environment; and what plans they have to amend section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 to set requirements in this regard.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: In October 2021, the Government published the Greening Finance Roadmap, which set out its intention to deliver new Sustainability Disclosures Requirements for companies, pension schemes and the financial services industry. These requirements will ensure that investment decisions take better account of sustainability matters. Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 already requires directors to have regard to the environment (among other matters), and directors of large companies must make an annual statement on how they are meeting their Section 172 duty.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Disclosure of Information

Lord Wills: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 9 March (HL6179), how many of the whistleblowing cases formally raised and investigated in each of the last three years fell into each of the following categories (or similar categories): (1) financial wrong-doing, (2) sexual misconduct, (3) national security, (4) misleading Parliament or the public, and (5) other.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: CSHR commissions departments annually to provide an overview of cases investigated formally through their whistleblowing procedures. Data is provided based on a number of categories set out in the Civil Service annual data return and so does not align directly with the categories set out in the question; financial wrongdoing, sexual misconduct, national security, misleading Parliament and other. Please note the caveat that national security whistleblowing data is a matter for the United Kingdom Security & Vetting team and is therefore not captured in these summaries. 2019/2020 - 383 cases were formally raised and investigated in government departments, with the concern upheld in 33 cases. They fell into the following categories:Breach of Civil Service code - 23Breach of security / information policy - 23Bullying and harassment - 4Danger to environment/health and safety - 13Deceiving/misleading Ministers, Parliament and others - 2Discrimination - 11Failure to comply with legal obligations - 22Fraud - 148Frustrating implementation of policy - 7Influence by improper pressure/personal gain - 14Misuse of official position - 39Other/Blank - 77 2020/2021 - 245 cases were formally raised and investigated in government departments, with the concern upheld in 13 cases. They fell into the following categories:Breach of Civil Service code - 14Breach of security / information policy - 8Bullying and harassment - 1Danger to environment/health and safety - 44Deceiving/misleading Ministers, Parliament and others - 4Discrimination - 7Failure to comply with legal obligations - 12Fraud - 96Frustrating implementation of policy - 9Influence by improper pressure/personal gain - 6Misuse of official position - 19Other - 25 2021/2022 - 311 cases were formally raised and investigated in government departments, with the concern upheld in 30 cases. They fell into the following categories:Breach of Civil Service code - 0Breach of Security / information policy - 14Bullying and harassment - 4Danger to environment/health and safety - 23Deceiving/misleading Ministers, Parliament and others - 13Discrimination - 5Failure to comply with legal obligations - 19Fraud - 131Frustrating implementation of policy - 4Influence by improper pressure/personal gain -10Misuse of official position - 38Other - 50

Government Departments: Disclosure of Information

Lord Wills: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 9 March (HL6179), how many of the whistleblowing cases formally raised, investigated and upheld in each of the last three years fell into each of the following categories (or similar categories): (1) financial wrongdoing, (2) sexual misconduct, (3) national security, (4) misleading Parliament or the public, and (5) other.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: CSHR commissions departments annually to provide an overview of cases investigated formally through their whistleblowing procedures.Data is provided based on a number of categories set out in the Civil Service annual data return and so does not align directly with the categories set out in the question; financial wrongdoing, sexual misconduct, national security, misleading Parliament and other.Please note the caveat that national security whistleblowing data is a matter for the United Kingdom Security & Vetting team and is therefore not captured in these summaries. 2019/2020 - 33 cases were formally raised, investigated and upheld in government departments, falling into the following categories:Breach of Civil Service code - 3Breach of security / information policy - 4Bullying and harassment - 1Danger to environment/health and safety - 1Deceiving/misleading Ministers, Parliament and others - 0Discrimination - 1Failure to comply with legal obligations - 3Fraud - 12Frustrating implementation of policy -0Influence by improper pressure/personal gain - 1Misuse of official position - 0Other/Blank - 7 2020/2021 - 13 cases were formally raised, investigated and upheld in government departments, falling into the following categories:Breach of Civil Service code - 1Breach of security / Information Policy - 0Bullying and harassment - 0Danger to environment/health and safety - 6Deceiving/misleading Ministers, Parliament and others - 0Discrimination - 1Failure to comply with legal obligations - 0Fraud - 1Frustrating implementation of policy - 1Influence by improper pressure/personal gain - 0Misuse of official position - 1Other - 2 2021/2022 - 30 cases were formally raised, investigated and upheld in government departments, falling into the following categories:Breach of Civil Service code - 0Breach of Security / Information Policy- 2Bullying and harassment - 0Danger to environment/health and safety - 3Deceiving/misleading Ministers, Parliament and others - 3Discrimination - 1Failure to comply with legal obligations - 5Fraud - 6Frustrating implementation of policy - 1Influence by improper pressure/personal gain -0Misuse of official position - 4Other - 5

Home Office

Refugees: Afghanistan

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 22 individuals granted resettlement through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 2 in 2022 are currently residing in the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We are pleased to have now welcomed the first arrivals to the UK under ACRS Pathway 2, and we will continue to welcome many more people as we receive further UNHCR referrals.At 23 February 2023, we have brought c.24,500 Afghans to safety in the UK. More information on arrivals can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-resettlement-programme-operational-data/afghan-resettlement-programme-operational-data All the 22 individuals granted resettlement through ACRS2 are residing in the UK – under pathway 2 individuals are granted leave once they arrive in the UK. Statistics on individuals resettled or relocated under the Afghan schemes is available in the Immigration System Statistics, year ending December 2022 release.   (NB. Data correct as of 31st December 2022 and was released 23rd February 2023).

Department for Transport

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support sustainable rural bus services.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government provides Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) with £42 million annually through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) for the purpose of subsidising socially necessary services that would otherwise be commercially unviable. The Government also provides over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through the BSOG to keep fares down and help them maintain an extensive network. The Government initially provided £60 million to help bus operators cap single fares at £2 on services in England outside London from 1 January to 31 March 2023. In addition to this, we will provide up to £75 million to continue to cap single bus fares at £2 in England outside London for a further three months until the end of June 2023. Over 140 operators covering more than 4,600 routes throughout England are participating in the scheme, including in rural areas, which will help increase patronage on buses and help millions save on their regular travel costs.Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.

Department for Education

Relationships and Sex Education

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they haveto legislate to give parents and guardians the right to view all material used in teaching Relationship, Health and Sex Education curricula, including lessons and activities delivered by external contractors or partners.

Baroness Barran: The existing statutory guidance for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) already places clear responsibilities on schools to engage parents about the content of lessons so that they know what their children are being taught. The department is clear that parents have a right to view teaching materials and that copyright law does not prevent a parent from viewing external resources on school premises. The department will be writing to schools shortly to confirm this position and that schools should not use external providers who would restrict their ability to do this.On 8 March, the Prime Minister announced that the government had brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance. This will enable the Department to consider the evidence and decide whether the provisions in the guidance need to be strengthened further to ensure that schools are fully transparent with parents.

Vocational Education: Qualifications

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence the Department for Education has to support the estimate made in their impact assessmentReview of post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England, published in July 2022, that "4 per cent of 16 to 19 year olds currently studying at level 3 may not be able to progress directly to level 3 study following the reforms".

Baroness Barran: The department’s estimate of the proportion of students who may not be able to move straight to level 3 at age 16 was published in the impact assessment that accompanied the second stage consultation on qualifications reform. This can be found here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/post-16-qualifications-review-team/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3/supporting_documents/Impact%20Assessment%20%20Review%20of%20post16%20qualifications%20at%20level%203_.pdf.The department’s estimate that 4% of the level 3 cohort may not be able to move directly to level 3 in future following the reforms to post-16 qualifications was based on 16-19 year old enrolments in 2019/20. There were 2.88 million in total, of which around 115,200 enrolments, or 4%, were assessed as potentially impacted. This was based on a prior attainment threshold of five passing GCSEs of grade 4 or above, or a full level 2 and an estimate of the number of qualifications that would remain in future. It is important to note that many students who do not move directly to level 3 do achieve that level after further intervention.Where students are unable to move directly to level 3, they will be able to choose from a range of high quality options. This includes the T level transition programme, from which 49% of students progressed to level 3 from the first cohort. In future, it will also include reformed level 2 technical and academic progression qualifications that are designed to support progression to apprenticeships, further academic and technical study and employment. Reformed technical qualifications will be based on employer led occupational standards and will provide young people with the skills that employers need.

Assessments: Artificial Intelligence

Lord Hampton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage Ofqual to adopt the stance of Dr Matthew Glanville, Head of Assessment Principles and Practice at the International Baccalaureate, that the use of artificial intelligence by pupils should be "embraced" as "an extraordinary opportunity".

Baroness Barran: Ofqual is the independent regulator of qualifications and assessments for England and is accountable to Parliament and not to Ministers. Ofqual has statutory objectives to maintain standards and promote public confidence in qualifications.As part of this remit, we know Ofqual is working closely with awarding organisations to consider the implications of pupils’ use of artificial intelligence (AI), including the opportunities and risks it may bring. We will continue to work closely with them on this going forward.The International Baccalaureate Organisation has confirmed it will not allow pupils to pass off AI-generated work as their own in their assessments. Ofqual’s rules, to which they are subject, require that grades must accurately reflect pupils’ attainment.

T-levels: Childcare and Pre-school Education

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government how many studentswill be onT Level courses commencing September 2023 which will lead to early years, nursery education,or childcare qualifications.

Baroness Barran: T Levels are being rolled out in a phased approach to ensure high quality. The number of providers will increase year on year and the department expects student numbers to grow significantly over the next few years.In September 2022, over 2,000 students started a T Level in Education and Childcare, and while the majority are expected to study the Early Years occupational specialism, students do not need to make their final decision until the end of their first year of learning.These students will move into their second year of learning in September, when the department also expects providers to enrol significantly more new students onto the Education T Level. Providers have set their own expectations for students they hope to recruit to each of their T Levels and are in the process of marketing their courses and interviewing and providing information, advice and guidance to students on the options available to them. The department will not have any information on new students until after the point they are enrolled.T Levels are equivalent in size to 3 A levels and are designed to support progression to skilled employment, further study (including higher education and Higher Technical Qualifications) and degree apprenticeships.

Childcare: Finance

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the additional capital resources the childcare sector will require to enable it to implement fully the expansion of childcare provision announced in the Spring Budget on 15 March; and what capital funding support they will provide.

Baroness Barran: In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the department expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.Our reforms include:Providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare for children over the age of nine months.Investing £204 million from September 2023, rising to £288 million in 2024/25 to uplift the rates for existing entitlements.Increasing the supply of wraparound care through £289 million startup funding.Attracting more people to childminding through an maximum £7.2 million startup grant fund.Giving providers more flexibility by changing staff-to-child ratios to 1:5 for two year olds in England.Launching a consultation on further measures to support reform of the childcare market, to explore further flexibilities for providers.The department will continue to work closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms, and explore how we can support the sector to deliver the additional places that will be required.The department will work closely with local authorities and providers to identify what needs to be in place to support this significant expansion in childcare provision, including capital requirements as well as workforce.We will set out further details in due course.

T-levels

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what proportion of, students enrolled on the T level Transition Programme in the (a) 2020/21, and (b) 2021/22, academic year went on to start a T level.

Baroness Barran: In the 2020/21 academic year, an estimated 14% (118 students) progressed onto a T Level out of 847 students who were recorded as starting a T Level Transition Programme. In total, 49% progressed to level 3 or higher outcomes (414 students), significantly higher than a provisional estimate of 37% progression to level 3 or above for all 16 year old students with a level 2 core learning aim. In the 2021/22 academic year, 3,348 students were recorded as starting a T Level Transition Programme and progression data for this cohort is not yet available.

Women and Equalities

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will submit their report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this year.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: We will not be submitting a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this year. Since we last went through the reporting cycle there has been a change in process, and we now follow the simplified reporting procedure.Under the simplified reporting procedure, the Committee sends a list of issues to the state party, to which the state party sends a reply. This reply constitutes the periodic report. This change came into effect after the Committee issued their concluding observations on our eighth periodic report in 2019.The Committee has not yet indicated when they will send the list of issues.

UN Commission on the Status of Women

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil society and youth representatives were included in the UK delegation at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting as requested by UN Women; and if so, (1) how they were selected, and (2) how they liaised with and reflected the views of the other UK civil society representatives at CSW.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The UK delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. Officials from FCDO and the Cabinet Office were also part of the delegation. The UK does not include civil society and youth representatives on the delegation, instead we hold regular briefing sessions with them to keep them updated. The relationship that the Government delegation has with civil society representatives at CSW is often held up as a model of good practice.Some other visitors to CSW from the UK are allowed to attend and are thus provided with delegate passes for the purpose of access to the UN building. This year this included a number of parliamentarians, a civil society speaker at one of our side events and a UN Women Youth delegate. We do not, though, consider them members of the official HMG delegation.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what factors they will consider when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to theCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Ministers consider a range of factors when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including the time and resources to mount a campaign, the potential benefits and the impact on other international elections.

Treasury

UK Infrastructure Bank

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what projects the UK Infrastructure Bank has considered in the last 13 months; what lending the Bank has provided to local government for large and complex projects since its incorporation; whether the Bank has been administratively classified; and if so, by what criteria this has been effected.

Baroness Penn: The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) was launched in June 2021 to provide infrastructure finance to tackle climate change and support regional and local economic growth across the UK. The Bank is an operationally independent institution and responsible for making its own investment decisions within the scope of its remit. The disclosure of information related to the projects the Bank has considered is market sensitive and therefore not shared publicly. The UKIB has made two loans to local authorities since 2021, including a £107 million loan to Tees Valley Combined Authority for the construction of the South Bank Quay and a £10 million loan to the West Midlands Combined Authority for green sprint bus infrastructure. The UKIB also supports local authorities through the continued rollout of its advisory service which has pilots underway in Bristol, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire. In April 2022, the Cabinet Office approved the administrative classification of UKIB as a Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by HM Treasury, with effect from June 2021. The UKIB Framework Document will be updated to reflect this classification after the UKIB Bill receives Royal Assent.

Electronic Government: Complaints

Lord Lipsey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many complaints they have received about difficulty accessing the Government Gateway.

Baroness Penn: The HMRC Technical help desk received 508 complaints for the period March 2022 to March 2023.

Local Housing Allowance

Lord Bird: To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they received from local authorities about the impact of Local Housing Allowance shortfalls on (1) homelessness levels, and (2) temporary accommodation costs, in the lead up to the Spring Budget 2023.

Baroness Penn: The Government engages with a range of stakeholders on issues relating to the Local Housing Allowance, homelessness and temporary accommodation.In April 2020, in response to the pandemic, Local Housing Allowance rates were raised to the 30th percentile of market rates. As a result of this increase, over 1.5 million households gained just over £600 per year on average in 2020/21. We have maintained rates at this elevated cash level and will continue to review rates annually.Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are also available from local authorities for tenants who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.The Government is committed to preventing homelessness where possible. We have allocated £654 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant which provides funding to enable Local Authorities to invest in prevention activities and helps meet their temporary accommodation costs. This is in addition to the £50m top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant for 2022/23 announced in December.